Archive for the 'Mac Mcanally' Tag Under 'Soundcheck' Category

My hipster friends who only listen to Arcade Fire and the Dead Weather will be appalled to learn this, but I had a really great time at the Jimmy Buffett show Thursday night in Irvine. In fact, barring a night with Phish or some reincarnation of the Grateful Dead, I can't imagine a finer way to have ended Verizon Wireless Amphitheater's 2010 season.

What's the point of moping when you've got good company, better brew, plenty of favorite songs and at one point as many as 20 present and former members of the Coral Reefer Band backing up their genial boss? That “wall of Coral Reefers,” as Buffett called it, was at its most massive during -- what else? -- “Margaritaville,” which finished off the main set as usual. But there were plenty of familiar faces wandering on and off stage throughout the 2½-hour performance.

Drummer Russ Kunkel, who played on so many of Buffett's (and everyone else's) '70s recordings, turned up to shake a tambourine during “Brown Eyed Girl” alongside rock-solid percussionist Ralph McDonald. Sam Clayton, who once anchored Little Feat, did the same for more than a few numbers -- though he needed some guidance during “One Particular Harbor,” which, like “Son of a Son of a Sailor” later in the set, was noticeably peppier than normal.

Other longstanding yet still momentary members stuck around for the whole set, including slide-guitar whiz Sonny Landreth and Buffett's current go-to co-writer Will Kimbrough, who added fretwork and vocals to just about everything but stood out most on material from last year's Buffett Hotel album: the opening blast “Nobody from Nowhere,” the subtly inspirational “Wings” and the twanged-up ditty “Surfing in a Hurricane.”